Kaye Morgan

Short CV

In 2011, Kaye Morgan graduated with her PhD from the School of Physics at Monash University in Australia. Completed under the supervision of David Paganin and Karen Siu, she worked on modeling and capturing phase contrast x-ray images at a synchrotron source. Kaye Morgan then began a three-year research fellowship at Monash, funded by a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award from the Australian Research Council. This project focused on developing and applying a new method of phase contrast x-ray imaging that tracks sample-induced distortions of a projected reference pattern. This method achieves both sufficient sensitivity to differentiate soft tissues and the speed necessary to capture biological dynamics at high resolution. Using this method and others, Kaye Morgan collaborated with biomedical researchers to non-invasively capture airway surface dynamics to inform airway treatment development. She is now a Veski Victorian Post-graduate Research Fellow at Monash University, a fellowship which incorporates two years visiting Technische Universität München, supported by her Hans Fischer fellowship and hosted by Prof Franz Pfeiffer.

Selected Awards

• 2014, Faculty of Science Commendation Award for Excellence in Research by an Early Career Researcher, Monash University, Australia
• 2014, Tall Poppy Young Scientist Award from the Australian Institute of Policy and Science, Australia
• 2013, Monash Researcher Accelerator Award, Monash University, Australia
• 2012, The Robert Street Doctoral Prize in Physics, Monash University, Australia
• 2011, The Australian Synchrotron Thesis Medal, Australia
• 2011, Discovery Early Career Researcher Award, Australian Research Council, Australia 

Research Interests

Dr. Morgan works in the field of phase contrast x-ray imaging (PCXI), developing and applying new methods for non-invasively imaging soft tissue at high resolution. PCXI reveals soft tissue structures like the lungs and airways in exquisite detail, and new-generation x-ray sources enable the capture of not only structural information, but also high-speed dynamics in an 'x-ray movie'.

Areas of research include: 

• Applying PCXI to answer research questions, largely in biomedicine.
  For example, imaging the airway surface to assess the ability of a new Cystic Fibrosis treatment to produce sufficient airway hydration for rapid clearance of inhaled debris.
• Translating PCXI from a synchrotron x-ray source to a compact x-ray source for better research accessibility and clinical availability.
• Developing PCXI methods to meet the aims mentioned above, to extract additional information about the sample, and to minimise the associated radiation dose. To date, this development has been centred on the single-grid/paper-analyser/speckle-tracking techniques.
• Modelling PCXI in computer simulations for experimental planning and set-up optimisation.

Selected Publications

• Donnelley, Martin; Morgan, Kaye S.; Siu, Karen K W; Farrow, Nigel R.; Stahr, Charlene S.; Boucher, Richard C.; Fouras, Andreas; Parsons, David W.: Non-invasive airway health assessment: synchrotron imaging reveals effects of rehydrating treatments on mucociliary transit in-vivo. Scientific reports 4, 2014, 3689.

• Morgan, Kaye S.; Donnelley, Martin; Farrow, Nigel; Fouras, Andreas; Yagi, Naoto; Suzuki, Yoshio; Takeuchi, Akihisa; Uesugi, Kentaro; Boucher, Richard C.; Siu, Karen K W; Parsons, David W.: In vivo X-ray imaging reveals improved airway surface hydration after a therapy designed for cystic fibrosis. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 190 (4), 2014, 469-471.

• Morgan, Kaye S.; Modregger, Peter; Irvine, Sarah C.; Rutishauser, Simon; Guzenko, Vitaliy A.; Stampanoni, Marco; David, Christian: A sensitive x-ray phase contrast technique for rapid imaging using a single phase grid analyzer. Optics letters 38 (22), 2013, 4605-4608.

• Donnelley, Martin; Morgan, Kaye S.; Siu, Karen K W; Parsons, David W.: Variability of in vivo fluid dose distribution in mouse airways is visualized by high-speed synchrotron X-ray imaging. Journal of aerosol medicine and pulmonary drug delivery 26 (5), 2013, 307-316.

• Morgan, Kaye S.; Donnelley, Martin; Paganin, David M.; Fouras, Andreas; Yagi, Naoto; Suzuki, Yoshio; Takeuchi, Akihisa; Uesugi, Kentaro; Boucher, Richard C.; Parsons, David W.; Siu, Karen K W: Measuring airway surface liquid depth in ex vivo mouse airways by x-ray imaging for the assessment of cystic fibrosis airway therapies. PloS one 8 (1), 2013, e55822.

• Morgan, Kaye S.; Paganin, David M.; Siu, Karen K. W.: X-ray phase imaging with a paper analyzer. Applied Physics Letters 100 (12), 2012, 124102.

• Morgan, Kaye S.; Paganin, David M.; Siu, Karen K W: Quantitative single-exposure x-ray phase contrast imaging using a single attenuation grid. Optics Express 19 (20), 2011, 19781-19789.

• Morgan, Kaye S.; Paganin, David M.; Siu, Karen K W: Quantitative x-ray phase-contrast imaging using a single grating of comparable pitch to sample feature size. Optics letters 36 (1), 2011, 55-57. 

• Morgan, Kaye S.; Irvine, Sarah C.; Suzuki, Yoshio; Uesugi, Kentaro; Takeuchi, Akihisa; Paganin, David M.; Siu, Karen K.W.: Measurement of hard X-ray coherence in the presence of a rotating random-phase-screen diffuser. Optics Communications 283 (2), 2010, 216-225.

• Morgan, Kaye S.; Siu, Karen K.W.; Paganin, David M.: The projection approximation versus an exact solution for X-ray phase contrast imaging, with a plane wave scattered by a dielectric cylinder. Optics Communications 283 (23), 2010, 4601-4608.

• Morgan, K. S.; Siu, Karen K W; Paganin, D. M.: The projection approximation and edge contrast for x-ray propagation-based phase contrast imaging of a cylindrical edge. Optics Express 18 (10), 2010, 986-9878.

For a full publication list, please see here.